Beautiful Marrkech

Prayers are called out five times a day in Marrakesh as its a Muslim country and the first is around 4.30/5.00 am. It takes a while to get use to calls and I like the sound but I'm glad I managed to sleep through some of them.

Today was our last full day in Marrakech so we wanted to make the most of it. We started the day visiting both the Palace de la Bahia and the El Badi Palace. Both were fascinating in different ways and it was great to see more of the architecture and history. We also loved seeing the Storks flying around and nesting on the Palace walls.

We then headed back to the Souks to explore and shop. The markets were much calmer than our first visit on Saturday and we felt more happy to browse in shops with less pressure to buy. We had a great afternoon strolling around and had lunch on the rooftop overlooking the market. The souks are something you have to visit yourself to understand the feel of the place. There are lots of different areas such as leather, metal, slippers, jewellery etc and most of the shops have people making the items they sell. It was so nice to be able to see the trades and products being made and the pride people had in their work. The other thing I really noticed is how few women were working and Mohammed had told us yesterday that many would be at home. I don't think we met any woman selling goods in the markets and attitudes are very traditional. We bought a range of pottery to take home and were spoilt for choice for the colours. We walked around the main square until the food stalls for the night market were starting to be put up.

After relaxing at the Riad for a while we headed back to Le Tanjia for our final meal as the food had been so good. It has been a wonderful holiday and the perfect amount of time to see a snapshot of both city and rural life. I've also loved spending quality time with Mum and we've both had a great time.


Marrakech, Morocco